North Carolina Newspapers

VOL 33 T SMITHFIELD, N. C., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1915. Number 98 the war news day by day. British and Turks Struggle in Egypt. Conflict in Russian Poland Fast and Furious. Australia Offers Eng land Ten Thousand More Men. Blockade Question to the Fore. Lu sitania Flies American Flag to \void Destruction by German Sub marines. Thursday’s Events. Russian aviators dropped bombs on the mobilized reserves and trains 0f the Germans southwest of War The long besieged garrison of przemysl being on the verge of star vation, a determined effort is to be made to relieve it. The Germans have again fiercely attacked the Belgian positions on the Yser River. The surrender of Lieutenant Colo nel Kemp, the South African rebel leader, is expected at Pretoria to bring to an end the uprising. Five hundred burghers and their officers laid down their arms. Germany notified the United States that American vessels should avoid the north and west coast of Fiance. The State Department at Washing ton believes that this action is intend ed as a warning against mines rather than as equivalent to the declaration of a blockade. The Kaiser inspected at Wilhelms haven the German submarine U-21 and complimented officers and crew for their daring exploit in the Irish Sea. On the western front—in Belgium, France and Alsace—artillery engage ments continue over most of the bat tle line with isolated and sporadic German rushes on the French posi tions. In declaring that the waters around England and Ireland, including the entire EngVish Channel, are included in the war zone, the German Admi ralty says that neutral ships in that zone will be in danger in consequence of the misuse of neutral flags ordered by the British government. A Turkish force, which attacked the Suez Canal and tried to cross it on rafts, was repulsed by the British with a loss of eight officers. The idea of another invasion of Servia is reported to have been aban doned owing to the spring inunda tions, the freshets in the Drina, Save and Lower Danube Rivers rendering operations difficult. The inundations likewise are serving to protect the Austro-Hungarian and Servian fron tiers. ✓ Werner Van Horn, who dynamited a Canadian bridge, was sentenced to 30 days in a Maine County jail on conviction of having damaged proper ty in Vanceboro by the explosion of dynamite under the international railroad bridge. Reported that British warships are again bombarding the German posi tions on the Belgian coast, and the Allies’ airmen are dropping bombs up on the German trenches. FRIDAY IN THE WAR. The desperate conflict raging west and southwest of Warsaw, capital of Russia Poland, is drawing the eyes of the world to this part of the east ern battle line. Directly west of Warsaw the Rus sians have assumed the offensive and claim to have crossed the Bzura riv er and to have taken German posi tions south of Sochaczew. Immedi ately to the southwest is the rein forced army of Field Marshal von Hindenburg, who is hurling his forces furiously against the Russian lines in another attempt to drive his way through to the Polish capital, the goal which he has long sought. Gen. von Hindenburg’s assault has resulted in one of the most furious tattles fought since the beginning of the war. Only meagre news has teen received to indicate its trend. Roth sides claim successes but the reports do not indicate that there has been any decisive turn. The latest German official state ment refers to the operations in the west as consisting mainly of artillery 'ueis. The French war office says r at the French artillery has done ef fective work in the valley of the Aisne. In Champagne, north of Beause Fmr, the allies made slight progress Thursday night. In Alsace the rench statement says a German at ac south of Altkirch was repulsed. Geneva dispatch says that Gen. von Bordungen, staff commander of the German operations in Lower Al sace, has been forced to move his headquarters from a place near Alt krisch to Muelhausen, owing to a bombardment by allied aviators. State papers and valuables are being re moved frtfm Muelhausen to Freiburg, it is said. The Overseas News Agency of Ber lin says that a second German war loan probably will be issued the first of March and on favodrole terms, as, it is aserted, the condition of the money market is exceptionally good. The British government has accept ed an offer by Australia to furnish another expeditionary force of 10,000 men. This force is in addition to the reinforcement of 4,000 men provided monthly.—Columbia State. SATURDAY WAR SUMMARY. Only meagre news has been re ceived from central Poland to indi cate the trend of the great battle be ing fought west and southwest of Warsayv, where Field Marshal von Hindenburg has been hurling his re-inforced army furiously against the Rusian lines in another attempt to break through to Warsaw. It is believed the battle continues and it appears certain there has been heavy loss of life. In t^e West artillery duels con tinue, but it is comparatively quiet in that %eatre of operations. The latest French official communi cation refers briefly to the “very ef ficient fire of our artillery in the valley of the Aisne” and says slight progress has been made by the allies in Champagne. The Austrian war office says fight ing continues along the Carpathian front and in Bukowina. The situa tion in southern Poland and in west ern Galicia, it adds, remains unchang ed. Emperor William of Germany, af ter inspecting the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven, has gone to the Enstem war zone. The British s tea met- Lusitania us 1 fhe American flag in crossing the ish sea and an inquiry by the Amer :>n government into the whole sub ' ■ ”t of belligerent vessels ■ utilizing So fi-i<TS of neutral states probably i’l result. The incident bears out - a measure, at least, the German ■negation that merchant men have pen advised to use the flag of neu. ra's under certain conditions. The captain of the Lusitania, ac cording to American passengers, ■laimed the right to use the Ameri can flag to protect neutral passengers and mail aboard his ship. The text of the German memoran dum regarding the retaliatory meas ures undertaken by Germany against Great Britain and Ireland, including the English channel, specifically notes that shipping north of Shetland is lands, in the eastern area of the North Sea and in a strip along the Netherlands coast, 30 miles wide, is not imperiled. Germany expresses hope that neu trals “will show no less consideration for the vital interests of Germany than for those of England and will aid in keeping their citiznes and prop-1 erty out of this area.” Gen. von Bissing, the new German governor general of Belgium, declares in an interview that American relief in Belgium “was and still is necessary in the highest degree.” He asserts that the German army is not using any foodstuffs sent to Belgium by Americans and that the army is draw ing its entire food supply from Ger-! many.—Columbia State. A BAD PIECE OF ROAI). The piece of road between Poplar creek bridge at the Lunceford place and the point where it joins the Smithfield and Clayton road is now one of the worst in the county. It belongs to Smithfield township. It was carefully laid off and graded and has been a good road part of the time, but was perhaps never so bad before as it is this winter. The clay and dirt have been made into mud and the road is full of holes. What it needs and all that it does need is plenty of gravel hauled and put on the top of the road bed. There is plenty of gravel near-this road'which could be easily gotten to the road. William M. Graham, a milliohaire resident of Santa Barbara, Cal., traveled 740 miles, the distance to San Francisco and back, for the sole purpose of having a Turkish bath. SATURDAY IN LEGISLATURE. State-wide Stock Law Would be Provided by Pending Bill Except in Localities Voting Against It—Near ly 1.000 Bills Introduced Thus Far. (Wilmington Star.) Raleigh, N. C., Feb. 6.—Another chapter was added to the pending in surance legislation today by the in troduction of bills in the Senate by Senators Weaver and Miller that are designed to authorize the State Com missioner of Insurance to hear com plaints of excessive fire insurance, rates and declare what should be thb just and reasonable rate, making pub lic record of the same, but not; going as far as the pending Seawell bill in the House to employ the commission er to actually lower the rate. With the session of the Legislature half over, there has been just 126 acts of this Legislature enrolled and duly ratified as laws and the bill numbers in the House have reached 748 and in the Senate 566. An indirect State-wide stock law bill came in the Senate today, intro duced by Senator Cohoon, of Pasquo tank, providing that live stock be pro hibited from running at large except in such territory as the people therein shall specifically vote to allow such live stock at large. The House defeated the Nash l^iU from the Senate for the creation of arbitral sourts composed of the clerk court and two commissioners named by him to settle differences out of court. Excellent progress was made today in both houses in clearing local bills from the calendars. Senator Snow’s bill to forbid the shaving of heads of prisoners and to prevent dressing them in what he terms convict uniforms furnished the sensation in the Senate today, prac tically a third of the membership condemning the “barbarous custom’ of Wake County. Senators held up their hands in horror, the galleries applauded and speakers waxed elo quent as they jumped on the officers of Wake County responsible for the practice. The bill, with two amend ments, went through its second read ing, but was carried over until Mon day, in order to afford a more thor ough study of the measure, which is State-wide in its application. Accord ing to senators, Wake is the only county following this custom. The following new bills were intro duced in the House: Currie—Prohibit the manufacture and sale of liquors within three miles of Cumberland County churches. This bill is aimed especially at wine mak ers who use their own grapes for the purpose. Douglass—Provide a recorder’s Court for Zebulon, Wake County. Al low the town of Zebulon to issue bonds for lights and streets. Grier—Regulate the conveyance o£ real estate of certain corporations. GERMANY GETTING DESPERATE Neutral Ships in Danger off Coasts of England and Holland, Warns The German Admiralty. Berlin, Feb. 4. (By Wireless to Sayville, N. Y.)—The German ad miralty today issued the following communication: “The waters around great Britian and Ireland, including the whole Eng lish Channel, are declared a war zone from and after February 18, 1915. “Every enemy ship found in this, war zone will be destroyed, even if it is impossible to avert dangers which» threaten the crew and passengers. “Also, neutral ships in the war j zone are in danger as in consequence of the misuse of neutral flags ordered by the British government on January 31, and in view of the hazards of naval warfare, it cannot ahvays be avoided that attacks meant for enemy ships endanger neutral ships. “Shipping northward, around the Shetland Islands in the' eastern basin of the North Sea and in a strip of at least 30 nautical miles in the breadth along the Dutch coast, is endangered in the same way.” A-joint resolution for an amend ment to the State constitution divid ing Texas into three States was in troduced last week by Senator W. L. Hall, of Wharton County. The , States would be North Texas, capital Palestine; West Texas, capital Abi lene, and South Texas, capital Austin. RUSSIA GAINS IN CARPA^HIA. Austrian Resistance Broken at Three Fortified Positions Near Mezolabo-1 rez. 2,500 Prisoners Captured. Minor Victories by Forces of the Czar Claimed in East Prussia and Northern Poland. i Petrograd, Feb 8.—Hard fighting continues in the Carpathians with j successes of considerable importance ] for the Russian troops, according to; an official communication issued here 1 today. A pursuit of the Austrians after their resistance had been brok- j en at three fortified positions near Mezolaborez is said to have resulted j in the capture of more than 2,500 prisoners. The capture of additional j troops after a retreat north of Uzsok’ Pass also is recorded while it is stated Austrian atacks were repulsed at other mountain passes. Minor Russian victories are claim ed in East Prussia and Northern Po land. The text of the communication follows: “On the right bank of the Vistula some skirmishes favorable to us have taken place. On a broad front near the village of Nadroz, Cossacks at tacked a squadron of the enemv sup ported by infantry, capturing twenty I Hussars. “Our cavalry at three o’clock in j the morning dislodged by a bayonet j attack the Germans from the villages ' of Podlesije and Prondystary captur- | ing a quantity of arms, ammunition and wire. “An important encounter took place on the road from Sierpre to Rypin where we delivered a successful night attack in the vicinity of the village j of Urszulewo. “On the left bank of the Vistula,1 on the Bzura and Rawka rivers can nonading continued on February 5,! but neither adversary undertook ac- j tive operations. In the region of the village of Kamiony we began an offensive and made some little prog ress in spite of an obstinate resist ance by the enemy. “Our artillery successfully bom-1 barded a column of Germans who; were moving in the direction of Boli mow from Zemiary. The infantry was compelled to flee, abandoning their artillery upon the highway. “In the Carpathians hard fighting continued. Our troops broke down the enemy’s resistance at three forti fied positions near Mezolaborez and pursued the retreating enemy several versts, taking two cannon, five ma chine guns, capturing the command ant of the Third Honveds, forty-sev en officers and 2,516 men. “North of Uzsok Pass near Luto wisko, the enemy was forced to re treat. Our troops occupied his trenches, taking three machine guns and many prisoners. “The attacks of the enemy who crossed the Toukholka and Beskid Passes on February 5, were repulsed with heavy losses for the enemy who' was forced into a precipitate retreat. “On the Black Sea our torpedo boat destroyers have bombarded Choppa. The cruiser Breslau which has arrived at Batum, fired twenty shots without result at our destroyers maneuvering in those waters. After two shots from the fortress the Breslau steamed away.” Death of Bryant Alford. J. Bryant Alford an aged colored man, died in Smithfield on Wednesday night of last week and was buried Thursday afternoon in the colored i cemetery. He was eighty-six years old. He was born in Wilson County west of Lucama, and before he came to Smithfield lived in the northeastern part of Johnston County. He was well known to the older men of the , county, having spent most of his life in Smithfield. He was a man of considerable en ergy. He was a good carpenter, anc^ after the Civil War rebuilt the bridge across Neuse river at Smith field. This bridge took the place of the one which was burned to hinder the Northern army in its march through the county, and stood until a few years ago w’hen it was replaced by the iron bridge we have now. At one time he had here a saw mill, a cotton gin and a store and did a large amount of business. For some time before his' death he was nearly blind. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all un necessary action.—Benjamin Frank lin. 900,000 HUNGRY NEAR LIEGE. I Belgians Almost Entirely Dependent on United States and Realize the j Situation. Free Food for One-1 Third. New York Sun. Dr. Percy H. Williams of the fac ulty of the College of Physicians and surgeon, who has just returned from Liege, where for six weeks he was in charge of the distribution of food sent from America, said last night that all of the people of Belgium are suffer ing from malnutrition and that if the food supply from this country is les sened there will be thousands of deaths from starvation. “Each person in the province of Liege, where I was in charge,” he said, “obtained 250 grams of bread and a litre of soup each day. The bread amounts to one-half of a very small loaf. “In the province of Liege there are 900,000 persons who are dependent on us. Rich and poor all have to get their food from us, the rich paying for it and the others obtaining tick ets from the overseers of the poor. A third of the Belgians are getting their food without charge. “Although other countries are aid ing in the work the Americans are doing practically all of it, and the Bel gians know this to be true. ‘American food,’ they call it. “There are many young Americans who are helping in the work of dis/ tribution and they have made names for themselves. Many of them are Rhodes scholars at Oxford. A pair of them would go into a town, confer with the burgomaster and then with in an hour or two have the wholb town organized for the relief work.” GENERAL NEWS ITEMS. Official figures fix the number of cows in Hungary at 2,620,000, of which more than 2,000,000 are pure blooded animals of the best milk producing breeds. Miss Katherine Clarke, the first woman senator in Qregon, has taken her seat in the State Senate. Stun ningly gowned and flushed with vic tory, she called at the State house before proceeding to the Senate. A New York Stock Exchange seat sold Thursday for $42,000.- This is an advance of $2,000 over the price at the last sale and compares with a low record of $34,000 last year. The seller of the seat was A. H. Combs, one of the oldest members. A limited railway service is to be opened on thirteen lines in the dis trict of Brussels, fourteen about Liege, five in Luxemburg and five about Charleroi, according to an an nouncement made by the German military authorities in Belgium. Alban Jasper Conant, distin guished as portrait painter, poet, author, and lecturer, died at New York last week, at the age of 93. He painted the portrait of Abraham Lincoln during the civil war which is known as “The Smiling Lincoln.” Alexander Sprunt & Son shipped a cargo of cotton, 12,823 bales, from Wilmington last week, bound for Liverpool. Value of cargo is about $600,000. This shipment brings the total number of bales shipped from Wilmington this season to 65,673. Contracts for the purchase of twenty-five of the largest type loco motives from a Lima, O., corpora tion have been signed by the Illi noise Central. The first of the en gines will be delivered about March 15. The total value of the order is more than $1,000,000 and will make work for from 3,000 to 4,000 men. The formal opening of the Panama canal has been postponed from March until July on account of continued slides in the canal. It is hoped in July to have the international fleet gather at Hampton Roads as the starting point for the cruise through the canal to San Francisco. The Pres ident expects to go to San Francis co in March and to make a special trip to Panama in July. There are five cotton storage ware houses in Sampson County, according to a news item sent from Clinton to the Wilmington Star. These ware houses have more than 5000 bales of cotton stored in them. This cotton is worth on an average of ten dol lars a bale more now than when stored. The Bank of Clinton and other banks have helped the farmers greatly by lending money on the cot ton stored. BOTH FRONTS SEE FIGHTING. However Official Reports Tell of N* Important Engagements. Use ot Neutral Colors Within Certain Limitations is Established in Prac tice. Sunday’s War News Con densed. » Minor engagements in the West and a continuation of the extended battles in Poland and the Carpathians comprise the meagre news contained in official statements regarding opera tions at the various battle fronts. Emperor William has visited a pany of the Silesian lanwehr, while the Russian emperor also is with his troops in the field. Vienna reports the retreat of the Russians in Bukowina, where the Austrians have taken 1,200 prisoners and have occupied Kimpolun in the south. The Dardanelles have been bom barded by the allied British and French warships. Two ammunition depots are said to have been set on fire. The British foreign office in a state ment bearing on the flying of the American flag by the Cunard liner Lusitania, although it does not men tion this incident, declares the use of a neutral flag within certain limita tion is well establshed in practice. The British government maintains that as it has not objected to foreign merchant vessels using the British flag as a ruse for evading capture at seat at the hands of a belligerent, a British merchant vessel is entitled to assume neutral colors for a similar purpose. The Turkish authorities at Hodcida, Arabia, have saluted the flag over the Italian consulate and thereby ended the incident caused by the re moval of the British consul from the consulate. The Montenegrin consul general in London reports that complete an archy reigns in Albania. He states that Albanian bands are moving and pillaging Montenegrin subjects and that all merchandise along the river Boyana is confiscated and held for enormous ransom. Spain has sent to the United States two representatives to purchase arms and soon also will buy several aero planes here. The German vice chancellor in forms the Associated Press that Ger many will not use for the army or the German administration any grain imported from the United States. The Chinese minister at Tokyo re ports to Peking that Japan has threatened military action to enforce its demands on China. The Chinese president, it is said, will grant some of the demands, but will resist trans gression of China’s sovereign right. Grand Admiral von Koester, pres ident of German Navy league, ad dressing the students at Kiel univer sity, intimated that the German navy has no intention of giving battle in force to the allied fleets. “Our fleet must protect under all conditions,” said the admiral, “and we may accept battle only when wc can reckon on victory.”—Columbia State. A Record-Breaker. Wilmington Dispatch. North Carolina will soon become stronger entrenched in the leadership of the country when Hon. Claude Kitchin ascends to the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives. While the expected happened yes terday, when the Democratic caucus decided on Kitchin as the leader, yet the action is decidedly gratifiying. It is worth noting and talking about. It will help the history of the Old North State shine brighter. The next Congress will witness both branches under the leadership of a North Carolinian. Has any other State ever made such a record? Has any other State ever been honored in such way? It is undoubtedly a re cord-breaker. Claude Kitchin will make a worthy successor to Oscar Underwood, who steps up to a seat in the United States Senate. He will probably make a more picturesque leader than Underwood, as he is known for his dash. He is powerful in debate, an intrepid fighter and one of the best posted men in Congress. He is ad mired by his opponents for his abil ity and feared by them in debate. At the same time, he is popular among his Democratic brethren.